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IBM FlashSystem A9000Version 12.1.0.b

Release Notes

IBM

Second Edition (November 2017)

This edition applies to IBM FlashSystem A9000 version 12.1.0.b. Newer document editions may be issued for thesame product version in order to add missing information, update information, or amend typographical errors. Theedition is reset to 'First Edition' for every new product version.

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2016, 2017.US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contractwith IBM Corp.

Contents

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1What's new in version 12.1.0.b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Hot upgrade from earlier versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Management and solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Change log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Version 12.1.0.b (October 2017) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Version 12.1.0.a (July 2017). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Version 12.1 (June 2017). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Fixes and features of earlier versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Known issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Known interoperability issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Related information and publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Getting information, help, and service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2016, 2017 iii

iv IBM FlashSystem A9000 12.1.0.b – Release Notes

Overview

IBM FlashSystem® A9000 is a compact, small-footprint, all-flash storage system thatdelivers ultra-fast storage together with mission-critical features, including datareduction by compression and inline deduplication, smart scaling, distributed data,automatic load balancing, and a multitude of advanced enterprise-class featuresand capabilities.

Built as a rack-free modular unit, IBM FlashSystem A9000 can utilize existinginfrastructure (such as racks, power distribution units, and more) and can behyper-scaled with additional IBM FlashSystem A9000 units that could be added tothe enterprise storage infrastructure over time.

In its core architecture, IBM FlashSystem A9000 utilizes IBM FlashCore® technologytogether with IBM® MicroLatency® modules, providing high density, low latency,and high IOPS performance. In addition, IBM FlashSystem Enhanced EnduranceTechnology reduces flash disk wearout and ensures long-term durability of theflash storage components, even under heavy workloads.

IBM FlashSystem A9000 is ideal for enterprise cloud environments that require fast,reliable, and redundant data storage, offering high service levels for dynamicworkloads and easy hyper-scaling, while supporting multi-tenant environments,flexible consumption models, and robust cloud automation and integrationcapabilities. IBM FlashSystem A9000 offers security and data protection throughadvanced remote mirroring, hot encryption, and self-healing mechanisms.

For more detailed information about IBM FlashSystem A9000, refer to its userdocumentation and online information.

What's new in version 12.1.0.bSoftware version 12.1.0.b is a hotfix release that resolves recently discoveredhigh-impact and other issues.

General availability (eGA) date: 2 October 2017

For information about the resolved issues, see “Change log” on page 4.

Hot upgrade from earlier versionsVersion 12.1.0.b supports direct non-disruptive upgrade (hot upgrade) from thefollowing versions.v 12.0.3, 12.0.3.a, 12.0.3.a-1, 12.0.3.bv 12.1.0, 12.1.0.a, 12.1.0.a-1

Note: These hot upgrade paths are valid for the time of the general availability(GA) date of version 12.1.0.b. However, hot upgrade from additional earlierversions could be supported later on. For up-to-date information, contact IBMSupport.

The upgrade procedure must be performed by an authorized IBM servicetechnician.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2016, 2017 1

Prior to initiating software upgrade, consult with IBM Support regarding therequired time allocation and expected duration of the upgrade procedure.

Note: The system e-license may automatically prompt in the management GUIupon the first post-upgrade operation, if the e-license was updated since it was lastaccepted. In such a case, the new e-license must be accepted before any GUIoperation can be performed.

Management and solutionsIBM FlashSystem A9000 version 12.1.0.b can be managed and monitored with IBMHyper-Scale Manager version 5.2 or later.

IBM Hyper-Scale Manager version 5.2 provides an advanced web-based graphicaluser interface (GUI) from which one or more IBM Spectrum Accelerate™ Familysystems can be managed and monitored in real time from a web browser.

IBM FlashSystem A9000 can also be managed from its command-line interface(CLI) or through representational state transfer (REST) application programminginterfaces (APIs).

IBM FlashSystem A9000 customers are entitled to free use of IBM Hyper-ScaleManager, which can be obtained at any time from the IBM Fix Central website(www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral).

IBM Spectrum Accelerate Family HyperSwap® Quorum Witness

The HyperSwap functionality feature in IBM FlashSystem A9000 version 12.1.x issupported by IBM Spectrum Accelerate Family HyperSwap Quorum Witnessversion 1.0 or later.

To significantly improve the transparent failover and facilitate the constantcoordination between two IBM FlashSystem A9000 or A9000R storage systems in aHyperSwap solution, an independent Quorum Witness software component ispreferably installed at a separate site (third failure domain).

Note: Newer versions of the Quorum Witness software may be releasedindependently to better support or enhance the HyperSwap operation. For moreinformation, see the latest Quorum Witness release notes and user guide.

IBM Spectrum Control™ Base Edition

IBM FlashSystem A9000 version 12.1.0.b is supported by IBM Spectrum ControlBase Edition version 3.2 or later, which provides the following VMware andMicrosoft platform integration tools.v IBM Storage Provider for VMware VASAv IBM Storage Enhancements for VMware vSphere Web Clientv IBM Storage Plug-in for VMware vRealize Orchestratorv IBM Storage Management Pack for VMware vRealize Operations Managerv IBM Storage Automation Plug-in for Microsoft PowerShell

Note: Versions of IBM Spectrum Control Base Edition earlier than 3.2 are not fullysupported and must be upgraded to 3.2 or later.

2 IBM FlashSystem A9000 12.1.0.b – Release Notes

http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral

For more information, see IBM Spectrum Control Base Edition on IBM KnowledgeCenter (www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/STWMS9).

IBM FlashSystem A9000 customers are entitled to free use of IBM SpectrumControl Base Edition, which can be obtained at any time from either the IBMHyper-Scale Manager software package or from the IBM Fix Central website(www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral).

Available cloud storage solutions

IBM FlashSystem A9000 version 12.1.0.b can be integrated with variousindependent software vendor (ISV) platform, application, virtualization, and cloudenvironments.

To facilitate this integration, IBM provides the following software solutions, alsoreferred to as cloud storage solutions.

Cloud storage solution Version Compatibility note

IBM Storage Host Attachment Kit 2.8.0 or later

2.8.2 ifWindows Serveris used

v Supports the HyperSwap featurethat is introduced in IBMFlashSystem A9000 version 12.1

v For use with IBM AIX®, Linux(Red Hat Enterprise Linux; SUSELinux Enterprise Server), andMicrosoft Windows Server hosts.

IBM Storage Driver for OpenStack 2.0.0 or later

IBM Storage Management Pack forMicrosoft System Center OperationsManager (SCOM)

2.6.0 or later

IBM Spectrum Accelerate FamilyProvider for Microsoft WindowsVolume Shadow Copy Service(VSS)

2.9.0 or later Supports the HyperSwap featurethat is introduced in IBMFlashSystem A9000 version 12.1

IBM Spectrum Accelerate FamilyStorage Replication Adapter (SRA)

3.0.0 or later v Supports the HyperSwap featurethat is introduced in IBMFlashSystem A9000 version 12.1

v For use with VMware SiteRecovery Manager 5.1–5.8 or 6.x.Requires the use of synchronousor asynchronous remotemirroring.

IBM FlashSystem A9000 customers are entitled to free use of the IBM cloud storagesolutions, which can be obtained at any time from the IBM Fix Central website(www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral).

For more information about the available cloud storage solutions for IBMFlashSystem A9000, see the 'Platform and application integration' section in theIBM FlashSystem A9000 space on IBM Knowledge Center (www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/STJKMM).

Overview 3

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Change logThis change log summarizes the enhancements and fixes in the different 12.1.xcode level versions of IBM FlashSystem A9000.

Note: New functional features of these versions are only briefly summarized. For adetailed summary of the new functional features of a specific version, refer to the'What's new' section of its release notes.

Version 12.1.0.b (October 2017)Version 12.1.0.b of IBM FlashSystem A9000 resolves the following issues.

Ticket ID Description

SYS-288588 Fixed: In a rare case, where snapshots, volume copy orasynchronous mirroring are used, and one of the following occursat the same time, the system might be exposed to undetected datacorruption on the snapshot, volumes created by the vol_copycommand, or the remote mirror copy, respectively:

v A cache node failure or cache node being repairedv A complete grid controller failure or grid controller being

repaired

Severity: HIPER

Affected versions: 12.1.0 or later

SYS-288772 Fixed: In rare cases, when I/O write operations smaller than 8Kthat are made to volumes that either have snapshots, use volumecopy, or are the source of an asynchronous mirroring relationship,the system might be exposed to undetected data corruption onthe snapshot, volumes created by the vol_copy command, or theremote mirror copy, respectively.

Severity: HIPER


SYS-287581 Fixed: A rare firmware error in the flash enclosure might causehosts to lose access to the system.

Severity: High Impact


SYS-288458 Fixed: In rare cases after a HyperSwap failover, a linkdisconnection between the two systems or a hot upgradeprocedure on the primary system – might cause all interfacenodes on the active HyperSwap peer to crash, causing loss ofaccess for all connected hosts.





SYS-288693 Fixed: In rare cases, a system that works at a very highdeduplication ratio while processing numerous overwrites of thesame data, SCSI response of medium error might be returned tothe host. At a lower probability, loss of access to the system mightoccur.



SYS-288762 Fixed: In rare cases, an internal flash controller failure may resultin:

v Data redistribution on a flash enclosure.v SCSI response of medium error returned to the host.v Loss of access to the system.v System shutdown.



SYS-288890 Fixed: In rare cases, an internal failure of a MicroLatency modulemight result in:

v Pre-upgrade procedure failure.v System shutdown.



SYS-288917 Fixed: In rare cases, slow MicroLatency module response in theflash enclosure might cause loss of access to the system.



SYS-297352 Fixed: In rare cases, a large amount of VAAI XCOPY operationsthat copy data containing zeros (or empty space that was neverwritten to) might cause a failure of all cache nodes, leading toloss of access to the system.



SYS-301291 Fixed: Critical temperature might be erroneously reported,triggering the automatic thermal shutdown procedure for theentire system, causing loss of access to the system.



Overview 5


SYS-286555 Fixed: A flash enclosure canister might fail when its dump filesystem becomes full.

Severity: Moderate


SYS-287803 Fixed: A grid controller failure during a system boot might causethe system to enter maintenance state, rather than start operatingas expected.

Severity: Moderate


SYS-288549 Fixed: An asynchronous volume mirror relationship cannot beadded to an asynchronous consistency group mirror relationship,even after multiple tries.

Severity: Moderate


SYS-288641 Fixed: In rare cases, a full system recovery performed by IBMSupport after system failure might need to be restarted due to anenforced timeout.

Severity: Service


Version 12.1.0.a (July 2017)Version 12.1.0.a of IBM FlashSystem A9000 resolved the following issues.


SYS-286560 Fixed: If the size of a primary volume of asynchronous mirroringis not a multiple of 32 KB, the data written to the last few LBAs,whose total size is less than 32 KB, is not replicated to thesecondary volume, thus creating undetected data corruption onthe secondary volume.

Severity: HIPER

Affected versions: 12.0.2, 12.0.3, 12.0.3.a, 12.0.3.a-1, and 12.1.0

SYS-288251 Fixed: Overall system performance degradation due to frequentFC port disconnections.


Affected versions: 12.1.0

SYS-288274 Fixed: A memory leak might cause storage system performancedegradation.

Severity: Moderate

Affected versions: 12.1.0


Version 12.1 (June 2017)Version 12.1 of IBM FlashSystem A9000 featured the IBM HyperSwap solution, andalso added support for a new local encryption key option.

For more detailed information about these features, refer to the IBM FlashSystemA9000 12.1 Product Overview publication.

Version 12.1 also added a functionality enhancement to the smtpgw_updatecommand. For more information, refer to the IBM FlashSystem A9000Command-Line Interface (CLI) Reference Guide.

In addition, the following issues have been resolved.


SYS-286510 Fixed: If the size of a primary volume is not a multiple of 16 MB(in synchronous mirroring) or a multiple of 4 KB (inasynchronous mirroring), the data written to the last few LBAs,whose total size is less than 16 MB or 4 KB respectively, is notreplicated to the secondary volume, thus creating undetected datacorruption on the secondary volume.

Severity: HIPER


SYS-285605 Fixed: In rare cases, a snapshot of the primary volume used inthe asynchronous mirroring might be incomplete. As a result, thedata in the secondary volume might be inconsistent with the dataon the primary volume.

Severity: HIPER


SYS-273223 Fixed: In rare cases, a system with an asynchronous mirrorrelationship might fail, if the target connectivity is down and anew asynchronous mirror is created with the Offline init optionselected.



SYS-283113 Fixed: In a scenario of an encrypted system that is shut down andthen powered on while the Tivoli® Key Lifecycle Manager(TKLM) is not accessible, the recovery keys might not work andaccess to the system could be denied.



Overview 7


SYS-283199 Fixed: Common security issues.

For more information about these security issues, seeCVE-2016-2177, CVE-2016-2178, CVE-2016-2179, CVE-2016-2180,CVE-2016-2181, CVE-2016-2182, CVE-2016-2183, CVE-2016-6302,CVE-2016-6304, and CVE-2016-6306 on the CommonVulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) information website(cve.mitre.org).



SYS-283154 Fixed: In asynchronous mirroring, performing the Change roleoperation on the slave while I/Os are still being sent to themaster may cause a rebuild of all data from one module.




For more information about these security issues, seeCVE-2016-3134, CVE-2016-4997, CVE-2016-4998, andCVE-2016-5696 on the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures(CVE) information website (cve.mitre.org).



SYS-285173 Fixed: When the IBM Hyper-Scale Mobility feature is used,upgrading the system software might result in loss of access tothe storage system.



SYS-285571 Fixed: Using QoS/Performance Class to limit the bandwidth of avolume may cause performance fluctuations on that volume.



SYS-285717 Fixed: After issuing the vol_copy CLI command on a volumelarger than 40TB, some hosts might lose access to their data.




https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2016-2177
















For more information about these security issues, seeCVE-2016-2834, CVE-2016-5285, and CVE-2016-8635 on theCommon Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) informationwebsite (cve.mitre.org).



SYS-286002 Fixed: In rare cases, due to an error in the internaldefragmentation process, all the hosts connected to the systemmight lose access to their data.



SYS-286292 Fixed: In rare cases, an extremely high number of parallel readI/Os from a single addressable range of 16M might render alldata on the system inaccessible.




For more information about these security issues, seeCVE-2016-8610 and CVE-2017-3731 on the CommonVulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) information website(cve.mitre.org).



SYS-286701 Fixed: After crossing the threshold of 18,181 volumes and/orwritable snapshots in total during the system's lifetime, somehosts might lose access to their data.



SYS-286839 Fixed: An internal error in the flash enclosure might cause theflash enclosure to fail.



SYS-287343 Fixed: In rare cases, due to an error in the internal metadatapaging process, all the hosts connected to the system might loseaccess to their data.



Overview 9







SYS-287587 Fixed: In rare cases, due to an intermittent hardware problem inthe canister, a single canister failure might result in a flashenclosure failure, which could lead to host loss of access to thestorage system.



SYS-281258 Fixed: Wrong compression and deduplication ratio values arereported after volume deletion.

Severity: Moderate

Affected versions: 12.0.0.a or later

SYS-282621 Fixed: When asynchronous remote mirroring is used over alow-bandwidth connection, host performance might be impacted.

Severity: Moderate


SYS-285307 Fixed: In rare cases, after restarting a regular Fibre Channel port,the port might stay down. The port status can be checked in IBMHyper-Scale Manager, but no FC_PORT_DOWN event is issued.

Severity: Moderate

Affected versions: 12.0.2.c or later

SYS-282945 Fixed: When asynchronous remote mirroring is used, the latencycould increase.

Severity: Moderate


SYS-280124 Fixed: Numerous MODULE_BBU_IS_CHARGING andMODULE_BBU_IS_FULL events are issued during the periodicdischarge of a grid controller's battery backup unit (BBU).

Severity: Service


SYS-280703 Fixed: If snapshot space is not configured, a misleading errorappears when trying to create a mirror snapshot and theoperation fails.

Severity: Low


Fixes and features of earlier versionsIBM FlashSystem A9000 version 12.1.0.b includes all the features and fixes thatwere provided in previous 12.0.x and 12.1.x. versions.


To obtain information regarding previously introduced FlashSystem A9000 featuresor issues that were resolved in previous versions, see FlashSystem A9000 on IBMKnowledge Center (www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/STJKMM).

LimitationsAs opposed to known issues, limitations are functionality restrictions that are partof the predefined system design and capabilities in a particular version.

Note: For information about specification-related functional boundaries, such asmaximum number of volumes and hosts per storage system, refer to the IBMFlashSystem A9000 specification sheet document, which can be provided to IBMcustomers under non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

Synchronous mirroring limitations

Use of synchronous remote mirroring is subject to the following limitation:v The reported size of data written on the master volume and slave volume does

not match. Zero data writes are not counted for the slave volume. However, thisdiscrepancy is by design and no actual data is lost.

Asynchronous mirroring use limitations

Use of asynchronous remote mirroring is subject to the following configurationlimitations in order to sustain performance:v Interval: 1–10 minutesv Minimum Recovery Point Objective (RPO): 2 minutesv Maximum number of mirrored volumes: 512

Limitations with IBM SAN Volume Controller

When using IBM FlashSystem A9000 as the backend storage of IBM SAN VolumeController, the IBM FlashSystem A9000 system is not aware of user-data that isdeleted or migrated on the SAN Volume Controller side. In addition, the IBMFlashSystem A9000 physical capacity usage is not directly monitored by IBM SANVolume Controller.

As a result, the IBM FlashSystem A9000 system cannot regularly reclaim freedcapacity, and without direct monitoring, the storage administrator may confrontout-of-partition (OOP) condition when the IBM FlashSystem A9000 system runsout of physical storage space.

To mitigate this limitation, when using IBM FlashSystem A9000 as the backendstorage of IBM SAN Volume Controller, monitor the IBM FlashSystem A9000physical capacity from the IBM Hyper-Scale Manager GUI, and make sure not toexceed 70% of the physical capacity utilization.

No support for Fibre Channel longwave optical adapters

Longwave optical adapters for Fibre Channel (FC) are not supported by IBMFlashSystem A9000.

Overview 11

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Known issuesThis section details the known issues in IBM FlashSystem A9000 version 12.1.0.b,along with possible solutions or workarounds (if available).

The following severity levels apply to known issues:v HIPER – High Impact Pervasive. A critical issue that IBM has either fixed or

plans to fix promptly. Requires immediate customer attention or code upgrade.v High Impact – Potentially irrecoverable error that might impact data or access to

data in rare cases or specific situations/configurations.v Moderate – Limited functionality issue and/or performance issue with a

noticeable effect.v Service – Non-disruptive recoverable error that can be resolved through a

workaround.v Low – Low-impact usability-related issue.

Important:

v The issues listed below apply to version 12.1.0.b or earlier versions. As long asa newer version has not yet been released, a newer release notes edition forversion 12.1.0.b might be issued to provide a more updated list of known issuesand workarounds.

v When a newer version is released for general availability, the release notes ofversion 12.1.0.b will no longer be updated. Accordingly, check the release notesof the newer version to learn whether any newly discovered issues affect version12.1.0.b or whether the newer version resolves any of the issues listed below.

Ticket ID SeverityAffectedversions Description

SYS-276739 High Impact 12.0.1or later

In rare cases when using synchronous mirroring, asecondary system software failure that results in loss ofaccess for all connected hosts (depending on the exact typeof failure on the secondary system), could cause hosts thatare writing to the primary system to lose access as well.

Workaround: No workaround is currently available.


When creating target connectivity over Fibre Channel (FC)in a HyperSwap or mirror relationship, the connectivitymight not always come up.



I/Os associated with a single QoS entity (pool, volume etc)directed to different ports on the same module mightcause performance degradation.

Workaround: Configure host mapping (iSCSI) or FCzoning (Fibre Channel) to ensure that all I/Os within oneQoS entity are sent to the same port on every module theyare connected to.



SYS-280008 Moderate 12.0.0or later

In rare cases when the system is heavily utilized,noticeable performance degradation could occur.

Workaround: Contact IBM Support to check whether aworking solution can be found.


Upon the creation of a snapshot, the system I/O latencycould increase, for a duration of up to several minutes.



Performance improvements that were introduced inversion 12.0.2 cannot be applied on data that was writtento the system prior to upgrading to version 12.0.2.

Workaround: When experiencing performance issues withdata that was written to the system prior to upgrading toversion 12.0.2, contact IBM Support.


If the master and the slave volumes are not of the samesystem software version level, the reason code of failure inthe MIRROR_SNAPSHOT_CREATE_FAILED event might beerroneous.

Workaround: Use the same microcode version on bothpeer systems.


When unmapping a migrated volume (with IBMHyper-Scale Mobility) or a HyperSwap volume from acluster, a delay of the host I/O response might beexperienced, ranging from 20 to 170 msec.



Defining more than 512 HyperSwap relationships causesthe loss of access to the Quorum Witness.

Workaround: Use Technician Assistant (TA) Tool to set themaximum allowed number of HyperSwap relationships to512.

SYS-279815 Service 12.0.0or later

If a MicroLatency module card that is pulled out of theflash enclosure when the enclosure's internal redundancystate is either 'Synching' or 'Degraded', the managementGUI indicates that the card has a spare, even if no spare isavailable.

Workaround: Use the flash_card_list CLI command todisplay the correct status of spares.


Some CLI commands might hang when storage pools arebeing cleaned from snapshots.

Workaround: In such a case, wait until the command iscarried out.

Overview 13



Data migration over Fibre Channel (FC) does not work ifthe number of LUNs per host exceeds 255.

Workaround: To resolve this issue, use 255 or less LUNsper host.


Enabling encryption of a flash enclosure that contains afailed flash canister could lead to partial encryption of theflash enclosure, or to complete encryption failure.

Workaround: To avoid this issue, before enablingencryption, verify that no flash enclosure contains a failedcanister. Otherwise, contact IBM Support.


When setting up LDAP authentication, entering thestorage system password is required, but this requirementis not enforced. This could lead to LDAP authenticationfailure if the password is not provided.

Workaround: To avoid this issue, always make sure toprovide the storage system password in order to allowaccess to the storage system.


An attempt to deactivate a Quorum Witness might renderthe Quorum Witness unresponsive, and remain in theDeactivating state without timing out (see also SYS-285120below).

Workaround: To resolve this issue, proceed as follows inIBM Hyper-Scale Manager:

1. Remove the current Quorum Witness configuration.This action disassociates the Quorum Witness from theconnected system(s).

2. Define a new Quorum Witness and make sure that thecorrect port is used.

3. Activate the newly defined Quorum Witness.4. Connect the system(s), that were previously using the

removed Quorum Witness, to the newly definedQuorum Witness.




When connecting a system to a Quorum Witness, theQuorum Witness might become unresponsive, and remainin the Activating state without timing out.

Workaround: To resolve this issue, proceed as follows inIBM Hyper-Scale Manager:

1. Deactivate the Quorum Witness. Note that the QuorumWitness state changes to Deactivating and remainsDeactivating without timing out (see also SYS-284512above).

2. Remove the current Quorum Witness configuration.This action disassociates the Quorum Witness from thesystem(s).

3. Define a new Quorum Witness and make sure that thecorrect port is used.

4. Activate the newly defined Quorum Witness.5. Connect the system(s), that were previously using the

removed Quorum Witness, to the newly definedQuorum Witness.


When an IBM Support technician is removing a canisterfrom the flash enclosure for maintenance purposes,multiple events ofPOD_IB_LINK_DETECTION_LINK_PERSISTENTLY_DISCONNECTEDmight be unnecessarily emitted. These events can be safelyignored.


When the CLI command reservation_key_list is appliedto the entire system, the command output displays themaximum of 512 keys, even if the factual number of keysis greater. However, when applied to a volume,reservation_key_list outputs the entire key list.

Workaround: Apply the command reservation_key_listper volume.


In rare cases, the ha_create command might fail.

Workaround: Retry the operation.


When removing a target port and adding it back withinless than 3 seconds, the high availability state forHyperSwap volumes is insufficient, and aTARGET_CONNECTIVITY_HA_INSUFFICIENT event is issued.



If there are more than 200 volumes in a HyperSwaprelation and a failover takes place, some of theHA_AUTOMATIC_FAILOVER_SUCCESFUL events might be lost.This does not affect the actual failover.


Overview 15



When the connection to the Quorum Witness is removedand then added back, an empty consistency group(contains no volumes) is not handled properly, and anyaddition of volumes to that consistency group fails.

Workaround: Delete the empty consistency group andthen create a new one.


Deleting a HyperSwap relation when the communicationbetween the peer systems is down, deletes only theprimary HyperSwap relation. Deleting the HyperSwaprelation from a disconnected secondary system is notpossible.

Workaround: Delete the HyperSwap relationship when thecommunication between the peer systems is up again. Ifthis is not possible, contact IBM Support


The ha_switch_roles command might fail and generatethe following event: HA_MASTER_UNAVAILABLE.

Workaround: Retry the command.


When an encrypted system is powered up while none ofthe key servers is responding, using the recovery keyswithout intervention of IBM Support will not bring thesystem to ON state.

Workaround: Contact IBM Support.

SYS-276870 Low 12.0.0or later

When a grid controller is replaced, or whenever thesystem is undergoing a software initiation process, datareduction saving statistics could be temporarily inaccurate.The statistics accuracy is regained as data is being accessedand processed again.

This issue has a noticeable effect only when 1 TB or lesshas been written to the system.



Time stamp is incorrect in statistics reported over SMI-S.



When obtaining I/O statistics for a HyperSwap volume,the remote path I/O value is always zero.



Known interoperability issuesThis section describes known issues or limitations that could arise when using IBMFlashSystem A9000 in conjunction with other components in the productionenvironment, such as hardware switches, host bus adapters (HBAs), other IBMproducts, or different software platforms such as operating systems, clusteringsolutions, virtual machine servers, multipathing solutions, and other third-partycomponents.


SYS-286719 Service 12.1or later

Failover of a Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2 clustergroup results in a stop error on the new active node. Thiscould occur when using these Windows Server versionswith HyperSwap volumes. No hotfix is currently available.

Workaround: Refer to IBM Support guidelines forWindows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 as described in IBMTechnote #S1010299.


The HyperSwap feature is not compatible with VMwareESXi 6.0 Update 2 or earlier.

Workaround: Use ESXi 6.0 Update 3 or later.


Veritas Dynamic Multi-Pathing (DMP) in any configurationdoes not support HyperSwap volumes.


Related information and publicationsYou can find additional information and publications related to IBM FlashSystemA9000 on the following information sources.v IBM Flash Storage marketing website (ibm.com/systems/storage/flash)v IBM FlashSystem A9000 on IBM Knowledge Center (ibm.com/support/

knowledgecenter/STJKMM)v IBM FlashSystem A9000R on IBM Knowledge Center (ibm.com/support/

knowledgecenter/STJKN5)v IBM Storage Redbooks® website (redbooks.ibm.com/portals/storage)

Getting information, help, and serviceIf you need help, service, technical assistance, or want more information about IBMproducts, you can find various sources to assist you. You can view the followingwebsites to get information about IBM products and services and to find the latesttechnical information and support.v IBM website (ibm.com®)v IBM Support Portal website (ibm.com/storage/support)v IBM Directory of Worldwide Contacts website (ibm.com/planetwide)v IBM service requests and PMRs (ibm.com/support/servicerequest/Home.action)

Use the Directory of Worldwide Contacts to find the appropriate phone number forinitiating voice call support. Voice calls arrive to Level 1 or Front Line Support.

Overview 17

http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ssg1S1010299

http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ssg1S1010299

http://www.ibm.com/systems/storage/flash/

http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/STJKMM

http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/STJKN5

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/portals/storage

http://www.ibm.com

http://www.ibm.com/storage/support

http://www.ibm.com/planetwide

http://www.ibm.com/support/servicerequest/Home.action

Notices

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Any references in this information to non-IBM Web sites are provided forconvenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those Websites. The materials at those Web sites are not part of the materials for this IBMproduct and use of those Web sites is at your own risk.

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Licensees of this program who wish to have information about it for the purposeof enabling: (i) the exchange of information between independently createdprograms and other programs (including this one) and (ii) the mutual use of theinformation which has been exchanged, should contact:

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Such information may be available, subject to appropriate terms and conditions,including in some cases, payment of a fee.

The licensed program described in this document and all licensed materialavailable for it are provided by IBM under terms of the IBM Customer Agreement,IBM International Program License Agreement or any equivalent agreementbetween us.

The performance data discussed herein is presented as derived under specificoperating conditions. Actual results may vary.

Information concerning non-IBM products was obtained from the suppliers ofthose products, their published announcements or other publicly available sources.IBM has not tested those products and cannot confirm the accuracy ofperformance, compatibility or any other claims related to non-IBM products.Questions on the capabilities of non-IBM products should be addressed to thesuppliers of those products.

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TrademarksIBM, IBM FlashSystem, the IBM logo, and ibm.com are trademarks or registeredtrademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in manyjurisdictions worldwide.

Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies.A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Copyright and trademarkinformation website (ibm.com/legal/us/en/copytrade.shtml).

Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, orboth.

Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server, and the Windows logo are trademarks orregistered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, othercountries, or both.


http://www.ibm.com/legal/us/en/copytrade.shtml

http://www.ibm.com/legal/us/en/copytrade.shtml

VMware, ESX, ESXi, vSphere, vCenter, and vCloud are trademarks or registeredtrademarks of VMware Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies.

Notices 21

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